Beatriz Castañeda: “Flores de mi tierra”

By Sol González

“Flores de mi tierra,” new paintings by Beatriz Castañeda, will be featured at Carral Espacio for the Fabrica la Aurora Art Walk on Saturday, February 1, from 5-7pm. This is the first presentation of Castañeda’s new series based on the flora of Mexico, which will be exhibited in Japan, Malaysia and the US later in 2014-2015.

Beatriz Castañeda, originally from Guadalajara, has been a resident of San Miguel de Allende for the past four years. She is well known for her paintings and printmaking through exhibitions in Mexico and the United States. Castañeda displays a rather modern unpredictability as she changes her emphasis from abstraction to the figure, followed by a return to abstraction or other representational subjects. A spectacular series of horses, based upon her childhood at a family ranch outside of Guadalajara, was showcased in 2012 at Carral Espacio in San Miguel de Allende.

This new group of works places painting at the center of her practice. A delicate floral motif is rendered in semi-transparent veils of paint. Richness and beauty is achieved through the simplicity of form and color. Like sunrise, these colors dissolve, capturing a transient memory. The first images in this new series, based upon local flowers, are a vehicle for pure abstraction, not botanical illustrations. They suggest fleeting moments of an effortless transcendent event rather than concrete imagery. These works are abstract associations to states of being, dream influences and birth. Their color seduces. Delicate hues delight. The viewer is pulled into areas of saturation, releasing imagery as we find our own personal balance within suggestions of volcanic cauldrons, human anatomy, and landscape.

Flower painting has a long history. I am reminded of Van Gogh writing of his sunflowers: “…my paintings are, however, almost a cry of anguish while symbolizing gratitude…” I look forward to viewing the continuation of this new series by Beatriz Castañeda as she expands it to include the cactus and landscape of Mexico.